The Outcasts
by Soraya the All Speaker
Summary: Jiraiya and Tsunade were declared traitors to Konoha; Danzou and the council had their sights set on ruling. An unwitting boy stumbling across the two Sannin set the village in a direction nobody could predict. Non-canon.
1. Lies and Truths

This was started by an idea given to me by Star Josherson, and has grown quite large. Enjoy.

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><p>Lies and Truths<p>

Seven year old Naruto looked down at the textbook open in front of him and grinned for the first time in a while. _There_ were his heroes. As Iruka droned on and on at the front of the classroom, Naruto decided to use the time to study the two pictures and blurbs in front of him.

Senju Tsunade and her teammate Jiraiya. Both were declared Sannin along with their teammate Orochimaru after battling Hanzou in the Second Shinobi War and determined to be the strongest three shinobi in the village, and some of the best in the world.

He wanted to be like them.

But none of the three resided in Konoha any longer, and no reasons were given. He was always curious why they had left, but even Sarutobi-jii-jii refused to give him an answer. Well that was fine. Someday when he was the best shinobi ever, he would go and find them on his own. Then he'd know.

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><p>Twelve year old Naruto leapt from tree to tree, keeping his eyes peeled on the ground in front of him. He had been sent out on a D-ranked mission, just a standard message delivery. But the target was two days away, and so just to be on the safe side Sarutobi-jii-jii had made him <em>promise<em> to be careful when looking for traps and ambushes. He was going to be going very close to the border of Fire Country, and 'one could never be too careful' in the old man's words.

The mission drop went just as expected, handing the message scroll off to an old man waiting in a secluded building – a guard outpost. Naruto didn't know what was in the scroll, and didn't ask. He had learned that lesson the hard way after Kakashi had put the whole team through a week of punishment for opening a scroll on a mission – even though the information in _that_ scroll was harmless.

It was on the way back that he caught the scent of campfire. He should have passed it by – he _should _have – but curiosity got the better of him. Naruto leapt along the trees branches to the smell, taking care to keep his footsteps silent in order to better prowl upon whoever was camping this close to the border.

Whoever he had expected to see, it _wasn't_ a middle aged pair – one blonde, and one with shocking white hair. The surprise had him dropping from the tree branch with a muffled curse, and landing flat on his face right on the outskirts of the firelight.

The two were immediately on alert, one pressing a kunai against his jugular and the other with a hand poised right over his heart. "Where are you from?" The voice was rough with hostility, not the golden song he had expected from such a beautiful woman. Well beautiful in the textbooks at age twenty, anyway. This woman had hard lines on her face, and while she seemed to retain the figure of her youth, it was obvious life had put its mark on her.

When he didn't answer right away she pushed her hand onto his chest just slightly, and he gasped in pain. "Answer, brat, or you'll be dead in five seconds."

Well that wasn't much of a choice. "Konoha." He had expected them to relax, but instead both tensed further.

"Who sent you?" That was the man, his black eyes hard as obsidian as they glared at the boy.

"No one."

"Don't lie to us." There was a strange glint in both their eyes, as though they had seen their share of liars and were ready to do _anything_ to get the truth.

"I'm not!" Now he was a bit annoyed. Why didn't they believe him? Some heroes_ they_ were shaping up to be. "I was on a mission, and I saw the fire!"

A few seconds silence as they seemed to communicate with each other, before both looked back at him. "Name and rank."

"Uzumaki Naruto, genin." He really didn't have a choice in the whole 'tell them' thing. Give up information or die. And it wasn't like this information was worth protecting with his life. Especially not against former Konoha shinobi.

He could see them both relax at that. A genin. A genin wasn't any threat to either of them, unless he decided to run his mouth.

"Scram gaki." Tsunade glared at him even as Jiraiya vanished the kunai he had been holding to the boy's throat and moved to pack up camp. She made no effort to help him up when she rose fluidly to her feet. "And if you know what's best for you you'll forget you ever saw us."

He scrambled to his feet as well, glaring daggers at her. "You know for heroes you aren't very nice."

Jiraiya let out a bark of laughter from where he had just put out the campfire. "Heroes? Us? Kid, you're delusional."

"But you are!" The textbooks didn't lie! "They tell us you beat Hanzou all by yourselves, you," he pointed a quivering finger at Tsunade where she stood with her arms crossed, regarding him like an interesting insect, "revolutionized medicine at the hospital, and _you_," another finger pointed at Jiraiya, "trained the Yondaime Hokage!"

"So? Those facts mean nothing." The blonde's tone was flat as she turned away from him and helped her companion to put away the few pieces of cooking gear lying around. "When it matters, nobody cares."

"But, you left to go make the world better, right!"

"Kid, where do you get these ideas." Jiraiya's voice was tired as he sealed the last of his supplies in a scroll. The site looked as though no one had stepped foot there. "We left because we had no other choice."

"But…but…" his brain felt like it was stuttering. Nothing was adding up anymore. "Everyone says Tsunade left to cure the world with medical jutsu, and you left to train with the sages!"

"Another pretty lie." Tsunade's fist lashed out, and suddenly a tree ceased to exist. "Just for you we'll tell the truth. Maybe you can go back and screw over those old farts who think they're a good _council_with the _facts_. You want to know why we left? Listen carefully."

He eyed her fist warily and stood well out of arms range – not that it would save him – then looked at both Sannin. "Fine. Tell me."


	2. Tales and Trials

Tales and Trials

There was no relaxed atmosphere for the normal storytelling. Instead Tsunade seemed to be on constant alert, her eyes always roaming the woods behind Naruto as though she didn't believe he had come alone. The campsite remained bare, and Naruto stood awkwardly on the perimeter of the clearing.

Jiraiya was the one who began talking first. "Gaki, the first thing you need to understand is that Konoha is place of lies. I don't care what you think of it, that's the truth. If they can twist words to benefit them, they'll do it without a second's hesitation." Naruto felt his mouth tighten at that, but he didn't interrupt. "The council rules everything, and if something doesn't agree with their ideas, they try their best to get rid of it. I was one of those problems."

Tsunade rolled her eyes as she moved across the clearing to stand next to Jiraiya. "Stop being so melodramatic. So they kicked you out. Screw them, the village doesn't deserve you anyway."

"He needs to know why," Jiraiya responded equably, obviously very used to his teammate's abrasive manner. Naruto just stared at the two. Any word he spoke right now might make them second guess telling him, let along letting him go. "Listen carefully, gaki."

Okay, forget remaining quiet. "Don't call me gaki!"

"It's what you are, too bad."

"_Anyway_," Jiraiya stressed, talking over both, "After we fought Hanzou, I stayed behind to train three Ame orphans, while Tsunade and Orochimaru went back to Konoha." He deliberately didn't use the word home. "Not that it did much good, as they left too…" When Tsunade smacked him on the back of the head – hard – he stopped with his dramatic thinking pose and continued. "Anyway. I stayed in Ame for three years trying to teach the kids how to take care of themselves, and when I came back the council wasn't too happy."

"They kept going on and on about how he was 'training the enemy' and 'revealing all our secrets'," Tsunade grumbled. "Pair of weak slimy old…"

"Oi, who's telling this story, you or me? You'll get your turn."

"It's just a waste of time anyway, there's no way a brainwashed genin will ever believe anything in Konoha is _bad_." She spat the word. "No it's the place of rainbows and fairies, where everything goes great and evil stays outside the walls." Naruto decided he didn't like her face at the moment. It was twisted into a sneer, disgust and hatred emanating from her eyes. He had seen faces like that before…but then she gave a sigh and it relaxed into slightly softer lines, ones of despair.

Jiraiya shot his teammate a look of pity, but continued. "They exiled me and declared me a traitor. Sarutobi tried to stop them, but they overruled. I wasn't going to stay in a place that suspected me of that crap anyway, so I left without a fuss."

"Hah," Tsunade scoffed, hitting Jiraiya again. "That's only because you wimped out. There are much better ways to leave."

"Yeah like putting a crack in sensei's face?"

"One of my better ideas."

"Sure, sure. I still hold that it was an accident. Are you going to tell the kid your story?"

All kidding aside, the blonde woman sighed. "Might as well, since you did yours. I hate leaving things unfinished." Tsunade pinned Naruto with a gimlet stare. "If you _ever_ spread this tale to anybody else, I will personally hunt you down and put you through the worst torture you can imagine. Understood?" She waited until he nodded then rolled her eyes. "Pathetic. Not that it matters. What did those textbooks you praise so highly say about me?"

The blond boy was startled to be talked to directly but answered promptly. After all it was one of maybe three sections he had actually cared about and read more than once, if that. "That you were the best medical specialist in Konoha and revolutionized the hospital. After you left, many of the techniques were lost and the medics have been trying to recover them ever since."

Tsunade smirked. "They would try to cover their asses like that. Brat, I took those techniques with me – the scrolls and all. Without anybody to teach them, those fools were screwed."

"Why would you do that? People need those techniques!" Naruto yelled, glaring daggers at the woman. She was just a selfish lady, not bothering to save people.

"Needed them?" The laugh she let out was neither mirthful nor remotely pleasant. "Do you know what they were doing with my techniques? I created them to heal people faster, get them up on their feet. The council _demanded_ I turn all my notes over to them. And do you know why? _So they could create unbeatable soldiers._ Ones who didn't feel pain, who regenerated almost instantly. They didn't listen when I said that would be killing those unfortunate victims in the most inhumane way possible. Not feel any pain? They wouldn't be able to feel anything. Just keep going and going as their bodies broke down further and further, until they died from their heart or lungs collapsing because their cells ran out of life. That isn't a life I would wish on my worst enemy." She let out another laugh. "Well, maybe I would. Those assholes would deserve just that kind of death."

Her eyes were a bit wild by that point, and Naruto didn't realize he had backed up until his back hit a tree. Jiraiya seemed completely unfazed by the display, examining a tag nonchalantly. No doubt he had heard it many times before, and possibly even sided with her. The blond didn't know who these two bitter people in front of him were, but they weren't the heroes of Konoha. Or were they? He didn't know anymore.

Tsunade punched yet another tree, vaporizing it into dust. The action seemed to calm her down, although Jiraiya looked up and said idly "If you keep doing that they'll know we were here."

She scowled but stopped and faced Naruto once more. "When I refused to give them my research, they declared me a traitor to Konoha too. So I left them a little parting gift. I took everything they had that I had created, even techniques they had built off of my own." Her eyes shifted to the side and she rubbed at the back of her neck awkwardly. "The crack in sensei's face was an accident though. But it made a nice parting gift."

Naruto felt as though he was slowly slipping down a steep incline built on truths and lies that he couldn't tell apart anymore. From all appearances both of the Sannin in front of him had been telling the truth – neither had a reason to lie. But did that mean…

Jiraiya cleared his throat. "Well we have to leave. Remember, tell anyone about this meeting and talking will be the least of your worries." His black eyes were hard as flint, but then they softened slightly. "You deserve something from all of this. Don't lose it. I suppose it belongs to you anyway." He flipped the boy something dark and metallic, and Naruto caught it automatically by the hilt. Before he could ask Jiraiya what it was, the white haired man had simply vanished.

Tsunade hung back to give Naruto one final warning. "Anyone they can't control, they try to destroy. Learn that quick boy, and learn it well." Then they were both gone, leaving Naruto with nothing but thoughts swirling in his head and an oddly shaped kunai.


	3. Students and Teachers

Students and Teachers

Jiraiya sighed as he and Tsunade stepped into the large mansion that had once belonged to Hanzou, and had since become Akatsuki's base and headquarters. "Yahiko? Nagato? Konan?" At his call all three materialized out of nowhere. He had to admit they had aged well since the time he had picked them up as orphans lost in the warzone of their country. Yahiko had kept his hair short and spiky, it's orange color standing out in the near constant grey state of Ame. Konan had perfected her origami style and finally gotten the light of laughter into her eyes on a near daily basis; Nagato had changed the most though. Gone was the lank red hair that covered his eyes, shielding them from view – instead he showed them proudly, and all recognized him as one of the saviors of their country.

He and Tsunade had joined his students after leaving Konoha – or rather, he had joined, and then Tsunade had tracked him down and demanded entry. This time with a veritable army of Ame shinobi at their backs, the five faced down Hanzou and won, winning Ame back from the man and his forces for good.

"Hey sensei, you're back early," Yahiko greeted the two warmly, striding forward. "And of course you're looking lovely as always, Tsunade-chan," he sent Tsunade a wink. She sighed in exasperation and rolled her eyes, but had long since given up discouraging the man. Some flirts just couldn't be repressed, and spending time in Jiraiya's company had only made the boy worse. He'd had his share of concussions from her fists anyway.

Konan gave the ginger a slap upside the head as she passed him, moving to check both Sannin over for injuries. She had become Tsunade's new apprentice, and while not extraordinarily talented, at least knew intermediate healing techniques. "Yahiko, pick on someone your own age. Jiraiya-sensei, what happened? I thought you two would be gone for at least a month. It's barely been a week."

"We ran into a…complication." Tsunade snorted at his word choice. "Fine, more like an unexpected blond brat. A Konoha genin. He stumbled into us on the border of Fire Country, so we decided it would be better to come back here and keep our heads low for a while."

"Was your cover compromised?" That was Nagato, stepping forward to join his two teammates surrounding Jiraiya and Tsunade. "Will he reveal your identities?"

"The idiot here sent a coded message back to Konoha with the boy, but there were…extenuating circumstances," Tsunade answered, shrugging out of her rain-laden jacket and tossing it onto a nearby bench. Following suit, Jiraiya took off his outer shirt, leaving on the under and mesh. "We knew his parents."

Yahiko arched a brow at Jiraiya, flipping his slightly long bangs out of his eyes. "That Minato boy you talked about for a while? Not like he could top us."

Konan rolled her eyes. "Someday your ego will burst and the whole mansion will fall down."

"Ah, but my dear Konan that won't ever happen. If anything it shall simply become bigger." With a twist of his hand Yahiko held out a bundle of flowers. "To appease you."

"Aw, for me? You shouldn't have." Tsunade snatched the bundle out of his hands. "These will make great components for some more antidotes. Always thinking practical, eh Yahiko?"

The man mock-pouted. "And another point to you, Tsunade-chan."

"All flirting aside…" Jiraiya earned another punch to the head for that, "he was Minato's son. He deserves to know the truth rather than the lies of Konoha, I owe it to Minato to tell him at least that much. And I sent back a Hirashin kunai. Kakashi will know what it means."

"Our intel does suggest Kakashi took on a genin team. You know for a fact this boy is part of it?"

"Yeah."

They stood in silence for a few moments before Tsunade broke it by clapping her hands together sharply. "Well as much as I enjoy everybody's company," – heavy sarcasm – "I think I'll go to the sparring rooms. Anyone volunteering to be a punching bag?" Her grin was feral as she eyed the three men in the room.

"I believe Jiiro hasn't been sufficiently punished for his last…advancement," Jiraiya suggested, working to keep the mirth from his voice.

The blonde woman's smile sharpened. "I believe you're correct."

"You know he's not going to be able to walk for the next three weeks, right sensei?" Yahiko spoke up, watching Tsunade move away, killing intent radiating from her body.

"His fault for trying to seduce her." Jiraiya shrugged nonchalantly. "He'd have to learn sometime, and I'd rather it be him being beat up than me. You don't know what the trip back was like." He shuddered. Sure, here where they were safe they could act carefree, but anywhere outside of Ame's borders the pair had to be on their guard. The only reason they hadn't been hunted down for bounty before was because nobody knew where they were at any given time on top of their prowess, and they worked hard to keep it that way.

"Sensei, do you think anything will come of your 'message'?" Nagato asked quietly, regarding the man with his ringed eyes. It was always hard to tell what he was thinking behind them, but Jiraiya got the sense he was a little apprehensive.

"If I'm right, Kakashi will either tell the boy of his heritage straight out, or make him work hard to know anything about the story. But at least we gave him a leg up."

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><p>Naruto threw the odd shaped kunai into the tree once again. It never flew like a normal kunai would, it whistled slightly and landed a bit lower than he wanted. But he was getting better with it. Picking it out of the wood, he stared again at the engravings on it. From what he could tell they were symbols and seals, but he couldn't make heads or tails of them.<p>

"An odd time to be practicing."

The blond spun around, one hand immediately going to his weapons pouch as the other brandished the strange kunai. He relaxed when he saw his sensei.

Kakashi leaned forward and nonchalantly picked the weapon out of the boy's loosened fingers, twirling it idly. "Where did you get this?" He may have looked relaxed, but inside he was nearly vibrating with tension and…excitement. The first sign of his old sensei in twelve years. Everybody knew Minato had died, but the mystery had been the disappearance of every single one of his Hirashin kunai that same night.

"I found it." Naruto eyed both man and kunai suspiciously. "It's mine, give it back."

"Do you know what this is?"

"A kunai. Duh."

Normally Kakashi would have responded with a flippant remark, but this was too important. "This belonged to the Yondaime Hokage. Where did you get it?"

"An old man gave it to me."

For once couldn't the boy give a straight answer? "Naruto."

"He said he knew my father, okay?" The boy was more than a little irritated. He had promised to never mention meeting Jiraiya and Tsunade, but Kakashi was making it _hard_.

The jounin sucked in a breath. There were only two people left who could make that claim and would have had access to the materials of Hirashin. One was the Sandaime, and the other… "_Where."_

"I promised I wouldn't tell."

"_Where?" _When Kakashi was giving him that kind of glare, Naruto decided saving his skin was worth more than a promise.

"Near the border of Ame."

In a flicker Kakashi was gone, and Naruto stepped forward three paces to pick up the object he had let fall. "At least he gave me back the kunai."


	4. Plots and Secrets

Plots and Secrets

The figure looked at Uzumaki Naruto where the boy stood examining the oddly shaped kunai speculatively. He had heard and seen enough. Keeping to the shadows he had spent the last few hours in, the retreated along the tree branch, then disappeared into the afternoon sunlight, invisible to the passersby.

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><p>Kakashi raced through the streets, all semblances of his normal lazy persona gone. He ignored the shocked looks he received from shopkeepers who knew of his wanderings, fellow comrades who had never seen him move that fast except when he was on a mission. He didn't care. He had one goal, and one goal only now, centered in the large red tower that rose above the rest of the village.<p>

With a leap he was climbing it. This was too important to go through the insides where he may be delayed, or told to wait. Even if the man was in a meeting, _he didn't care_. He had to know. It was a fiery drive of the kind he hadn't felt since the Yondaime's death.

The window was open and he jumped through, landing in front of the desk. Sarutobi didn't even bat an eye, finishing the few words he was carefully inscribing on a document before putting down the pen with care and looking up at Kakashi. His eyes were steel. "I assume there is a good reason for this uncharacteristic action?" The man may be known for being benevolent, but he also had an iron will.

"Sandaime-sama, where is Jiraiya?" Kakashi could match wills as well, could probably put up a good fight. It wasn't his most prudent action, but he wasn't thinking straight. The past was coming back to clog his mind, drowning him in memories of what had happened, what would happen, what could happen.

If Sarutobi was surprised, he hid it well. The old man steepled his fingers and gazed over them at the jounin who practically radiated tension. "Konoha neither knows nor cares where Jiraiya is."

"That's bull!" The words were out before he could stop them. He hadn't acted this stupid since before Obito died. "You keep tabs on your students."

The piercing glare the Hokage was sending him now sent chills down his spine. "Mind your tone, Hatake. Remember to whom you speak."

"Naruto has one of Minato-sensei's kunai. There are only two people he could have gotten it from, and it _wasn't you_. Where is Jiraiya?" His one visible eye was wide with frustration and anger. He wanted_answers_, he wanted to track the man down and shake everything he had to know out of Jiraiya. He had to know _what had happened that night_. He couldn't live not knowing.

"Such information is classified." The Hokage's tone was that of glaciers on a frigid night. "It does not concern you."

"Requesting permission to find Jiraiya."

"Denied."

"Hokage-sama –"

"You would do well to forget about this topic, Hatake. Or you will be seen as a liability to the village and dealt with accordingly."

Kakashi clenched his teeth tightly to keep the retort from slipping out, and bowed low from the waist. "Hai, Hokage-sama." He made sure the man couldn't see his eyes. It wouldn't do for the Professor to see the plan in them.

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><p>"You are sure?" The voice was deep, raspy. The figure kneeling on the floor halfway in the shadows nodded decisively once. "Very well. The information shall be dealt with accordingly. Fetch Koharu and Homura." The figure vanished.<p>

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><p>Kakashi prowled along the shadows of the wall, watching the bored chuunin guard at the gate. The moment the man turned and stifled a yawn, he struck. One hand over the mouth, the other to a temple. A light genjutsu and the man was down for the count, unconscious. He would wake up in five minutes and not think anything was out of the ordinary. Kakashi's passage would go unnoticed.<p>

He had made his plan carefully, knowing the rotations of the guards and how to get out of Konoha. The last rumors of the toad sage floating around said he was lurking in Ame, and Naruto had encountered him close to the Ame border. It was a place to start.

The jounin sped through the trees, leaving almost no signs of passage. No doubt Sarutobi would take action the moment his absence was noticed, but he planned to be well away by then. He didn't _think_he'd be labeled a traitor, but he was certainly pushing the line. No use taking chances. Kakashi had brought everything important to him on this trip, sealed into a storage scroll he had given to Pakkun to hold onto. His loyal dog knew exactly what to do should they face interference.

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><p>Nagato looked up sharply as something passed through his senses on the fringes of Ame. Yahiko ruled the village, but Nagato was in charge of its defense. His ability to spread his chakra through the near constant rain of the country allowed him to sense any intruders. And one had just arrived. With quick steps he made his way to the room Yahiko was relaxing in, engaging in a rare game of wits with Konan. The ginger always lost, but it didn't keep him from trying. "We have an interloper."<p>

"Oh?" From where he was sprawled on the couch, Yahiko sent Nagato a piercing gaze; Konan's eyes latched onto the redhead as well. "How serious?"

"Jounin at least, from the direction of Konoha."

"Well." There was nothing nice about Yahiko's smile. "I believe our visitor deserves a welcome party."

* * *

><p>Kakashi leapt along stone cliffs, having had to abandon the trees at the border between the two countries. Ame housed almost no vegetation – it would have been unable to grow without sunlight to nourish it, despite the plentitude of water. There was something off about the rain, something he couldn't quite put his finger on, but there was nothing he could do. Instead, he stopped and bit his thumb to draw blood, running through familiar seals. In a cloud of smoke a small brown pug appeared, his blue bandana instantly getting wet.<p>

"Kakashi what is this?" he grumbled. "You know I hate water."

"Pakkun, can you get his scent?" Kakashi ignored his summons' gripes. Sometimes the dog wasn't happy without something to complain about.

"Yeah yeah, ask me to catch a scent in the rain…" Pakkun rolled his eyes as best he could and put his nose to the ground. "It's faint, but I have a direction."

Kakashi stopped listening, making two hand signals that the summons caught out of the corner of his eye. In one bound he was away from the jounin, hiding behind an outcropping of rock. Not five seconds later three figures materialized out of the rain, facing Kakashi.

"So, we have a mouse trying to sneak in?" the orange haired one spoke up first. "Mice that sniff where they aren't welcome lose more than their whiskers."

"I'm looking for Jiraiya." He was sizing up his opponents. The rain was dulling his ability to read their chakra, he couldn't place their level. Perhaps chuunin at least, each of them.

"Jiraiya isn't looking for you." That was the woman on the right, her heavy lidded eyes boring holes in him. "He wants none of your kind sniffing around."

"He left a message. I need to know more about it."

"You were Konoha ANBU." _That_ gave Kakashi a shock. Nobody should know about the appointments within the ranks of the Konoha elite. Their identities could not be compromised, or they were deemed useless. The redhead continued "ANBU are the lapdogs of the Hokage. We have no use of your kind here. You are not wanted."

"You've come too far to be let go. Prepare yourself." That was all the warning before the ginger attacked, coming from straight ahead. As Kakashi moved to dodge his feet slipped on something and he fell heavily, seeing a white piece of paper detach itself from the rock. He barely dodged the sword that plunged towards his head where he lay.

"I know Jiraiya! He talked to my student!"

"That is between sensei and Uzumaki Naruto. You have no business being here." Again Kakashi was forced to dodge, rolling to his feet and slashing out with a kunai to stop the sword on its swing.

Pakkun didn't like the way the meeting was going. With one look at his master, the pug turned and ran off, following the trail that would lead him to Jiraiya. It couldn't be too far now.

* * *

><p>The three council members sat in a small room, the two advisors facing the man who had called them. "What do you want, Danzou?"<p>

The crippled man looked up, half of his face covered by bandages as always. "I have received news that threatens all of us. We have been compromised." They waited in silence. "There is one who knows the truth of the Sannin."

"How? We exiled them and branded them as traitors," Koharu protested, the pin in her hair jostling slightly. "There should be no one who would listen, let alone survive an encounter with those two. Even if they did, no one would believe them."

Homura was less eloquent. "Who?"

"The demon container, Uzumaki Naruto. He came across the Sannin within Fire Country, and they told him everything. Their ties to the boy make him dangerous – they could be willing to do more for him than any other." Neither advisor questioned how Danzou had gotten his information. What they didn't know, they could deny.

"The boy isn't known for his ability to keep secrets. If he tells a single person, it could be throughout the village in a week. All we have cultivated could fall."

"There is one other who knows. Hatake Kakashi. He was seen leaving the village last night."

"We may already be too late then. We must limit the damage, before it can spread further."

Danzou nodded decisively and raised a hand. Without even a whisper there was a woman kneeling in front of him. "Uzumaki Naruto must die."


	5. Questions and Decisions

Questions and Decisions

Naruto wandered into Sarutobi's office as he was prone to do, bright blue eyes wandering around to see if the Hokage had added anything new to his collections. There were some new books lining the shelves but those didn't interest the boy, never had. Instead he focused on the figure who looked up at him with a genial smile. The Hokage always seemed to have time to see him, and always met him with a smile. "How are you today, Naruto-kun?"

"Eh, pretty good!" Naruto grinned back, rubbing at the back of his head with one hand. The old man didn't need to know about the shopkeeper that had chased him out with a broom earlier that day, refusing to sell the boy a new set of clothing. "Kakashi-sensei never showed up for team training today, so we have the day off."

Sarutobi's eyes narrowed imperceptibly at that. Was it possible Hatake had gone off halfcocked and left to find Jiraiya himself? Yes. He made a mental note to consider the issue later. "I'm sorry to hear that. Bonding with your team over training can be quite valuable."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Bonding over ramen is better!" The Hokage let out a laugh at that. Just the answer he would expect from the blond boy in front of him. "But jii-jii, I have a question for you." His tone was serious now, so Sarutobi matched his mood.

"What is it Naruto-kun?"

Fishing in his weapons pouch, Naruto pulled out the oddly shaped kunai he had been given and displayed it to the elder man. "Someone told me this belonged to the Yondaime, but that it belonged to me. What does that mean?"

Sarutobi closed his eyes, desperately trying to think of what to say.

* * *

><p>Perched on a rooftop across from the Hokage's office, a figure stared through the window at the target. To go missing right after a meeting with the Hokage would be suspicious, but it could wait. Wait until just the right time, when nobody would notice…the mission was only time sensitive that the boy not tell his story to anyone who didn't know about it already. It could wait just a little longer.<p>

* * *

><p>Tsunade stared at the little dog in front of her. Somehow he had made it past Nagato's traps on the mansion and into its hallways. But it wouldn't be getting much further.<p>

"Hey, lady!" it said again, it's voice a little irritated. "Where's Jiraiya?"

She didn't recognize it, but by the bandana on its back and the fact it was talking she knew it was a summons. And the only person she knew who had a dog summons' contract – and the fact had been mentioned in passing by Jiraiya – was Kakashi. She eyed the brown pug warily. "You shouldn't be here."

If dogs could eye roll it would have. "Way to go, Sherlock. I'm looking for Jiraiya, Kakashi's trying to get to him."

Well that cemented that fact. Well she wasn't about to let their security be compromised by an idiot from Konoha. "He's not here. And in a second you won't be either." The chakra was already being channeled into her fist when a voice floated out of the hallway behind her.

"What am I not here for?" Damn.

"Kakashi came to talk to you about the kunai and Naruto!" the dog shouted, running past Tsunade and her dangerous fist to glare up at Jiraiya. "And he's being beaten up right now trying to get here!"

Jiraiya stilled. "By who?"

"Three crazy people, two guys and a girl." There was only one group that fit that description in Ame, one group that would know the jounin had entered the country.

"The idiot wasn't supposed to come here…" Jiraiya muttered under his breath, but he was already heading for the exit.

"What are you doing?" Tsunade's harsh voice stopped him. "What has Konoha done for us? There's no reason to go see him. Let him die."

The toad sage didn't turn around. "He needs answers too, and I'm not about to let him die before he can get them. You can either come with me or stay here, but I'm going." Muttering under her breath about stubborn males who didn't know when to kill the enemy and be done with it, Tsunade followed him out of the mansion and into the rain. Pakkun trailed behind, a safe enough distance away he wasn't in immediate danger of being hit. The female Sannin was legendary for the strength of her punches after all.

* * *

><p>Kakashi was breathing hard, grateful for the little respite he had between dodging attacks. He had barely managed to get any of his own off, only able to create a lighting clone that exploded when a hand plunged through it and shocking the attacker. His odds in the fight had gone from slim to none, and now he felt as though he was simply prolonging the inevitable.<p>

"Halt." The one resounding word echoed across the rocky ground, and simultaneously the three attackers turned to face it's source. For a few moments Kakashi didn't recognize him – gone was the normally jovial expression, and the lines on his face were more from stress and worry than laughter. But it was still his sensei's mentor, arms folded commandingly. He almost didn't see the blonde woman hanging back in the shadows, eyes roving the scene. It had to be Tsunade.

"Sensei, we caught this intruder upon our territory. He is Konoha, and so should be dealt with accordingly," Yahiko proclaimed, gesturing to the jounin.

"I know who and what he is." Jiraiya's voice was even as he stared at Kakashi with no emotion in his eyes. "I also know why he has come here, although he should have known better. You will stand down." Konan and Yahiko immediately stepped away, back towards Jiraiya, but Nagato remained firm.

"Sensei, please let me deal with this. After what Konoha has done…"

"No, Nagato. I brought him here, indirectly or not, and I will not let you kill him because of that." Something flickered through Nagato's eyes that only Jiraiya seemed to be able to read. "Killing him won't solve anything. He wasn't responsible."

There was a silent staring contest for nearly ten seconds before Nagato bowed his head and stepped to where his teammates were. "Hai, sensei."

"Now." Jiraiya's voice was cold and unyielding. "Hatake you will come with me. You will be blindfolded, and you will dismiss your dog. We have much to talk about, but you will be treated as a stranger. Understood?" The silver haired man nodded once. He hated the position he was in, but knew it to be very reasonable. Papers slipped across his eyes and ears, effectively rendering him blind to the environment around him.

* * *

><p>Tsunade watched as Hatake Kakashi was led away. She <em>knew<em>, in a way she couldn't put her finger on, that Kakashi would have tried to find out more from Konoha before resorting to coming to Jiraiya directly. And if he had tried to get information, the council would know something was up. It didn't take a genius to figure out they would do anything to hide the truth, as they had done decades ago. And the only one in Konoha who knew the truth besides them was Uzumaki Naruto.

_"Anyone they can't control, they try to destroy. Learn that quick boy, and learn it well."_

If the council thought they were going to be able to take care of the matter quickly and quietly, they thought wrong. It was time to pay another visit to Konoha.


	6. Battles and Dreams

The best thing about this chapter in my opinion is the picture Addster drew to go along with it! It looks completely amazing, everyone should go look at it - addster307641. deviantart. com/art/One-of-those-quot-Oh-Shit-quot-moments-261319762 Seriously. Do it.

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><p>Battles and Dreams<p>

Kakashi paced the small room he had been put in by the Ame shinobi. Jiraiya had disappeared almost the moment they had arrived at…wherever they were. With his senses cut off, he had no idea where he had been led and was now waiting. Food came at regular intervals, and it was the fourth time. He didn't know if that meant day or night, his internal clock had been thrown off. All he could do was wait.

* * *

><p>Tsunade sat in the branches of a tree overlooking the walls of Konohagakure in the midmorning. She was almost right over the village itself and had been passed twice by ANBU passing the walls, unaware of her presence. She was there for Naruto, but she had a stop to make first. Bringing her hands together in a familiar seal, Tsunade focused her chakra and disappeared from the foliage.<p>

She reappeared a moment later, in the middle of one of the most important places in the village; the Hokage's office. Sarutobi looked up, startled, as he felt the fluctuation of chakra – a chakra signature he hadn't felt for over twenty years. "What are you doing here?"

Tsunade lounged against the wall casually, arms crossed over her chest and golden eyes partially lidded. "Who, me?" She pretended to look around for someone else in the office, then back at the Hokage. "Why, I don't believe that's any of your business anymore, sensei." The amount of malice she could put into one word was astounding.

"Senju Tsunade, you were exiled from this village and declared a traitor. By law, setting foot within Konoha is an offense punishable by imprisonment and death," Sarutobi rattled off formally, keeping his eyes on his one-time student.

"Ah, but you won't report my presence here, will you sensei?" she asked sweetly, then a mask snapped into place and her voice was cold and hard, eyes like amber flint. "After all, you never reported what those ignorant advisors of yours planned to do, did you? No, you kept your mouth shut like a good accomplice."

A spark of fire ignited in Sarutobi's eyes. "You have no right to question me. There were circumstances you were unaware of –"

She cut him off. "What circumstances? It was _my_ research, and I know exactly what the old fools planned to do with it! You were going to create a soldier, an unbeatable soldier, at the cost of _human lives_. They wouldn't be able to feel any pain, but they would die because they wouldn't know when to stop. You would be making a machine. Where were your morals, sensei? You could have stopped the council with a word, but you remained silent!"

"We needed more reinforcements." His voice was heavy, but he met her eyes levelly. "We were losing, and if we had succumbed we would have lost much more than just a few lives."

"Sacrifice a few for the good of the many, is that how you justify it to yourself? Well I don't see it that way." She slammed her fist into the wall behind her, a crack springing from the impact and snaking along the plaster. "The way I see it you were a fool, blinded by power." Now she darted forward, all the windows blowing outwards to shatter on the streets below as she thrust chakra forward. With her back to him, looking out over the village, Tsunade dealt the final blow. "The way I see it, you're no better than Orochimaru."

Sarutobi made no move to follow her, stunned by that last sentence.

* * *

><p>Naruto hummed to himself as he walked along the dirt pathway to the training grounds. It was pretty far away from most of the village, the better to keep the techniques of shinobi practicing there from civilians and other possible spies. It also meant nobody was around to see him.<p>

The only inkling he had that something was afoot was a dark figure rising out of the ground in front of him, katana in one hand. Before the blond could even make a move, the figure struck.

* * *

><p>Tsunade cursed to herself as she bounded over rooftops. She knew Naruto was in danger, and the sooner they got him out of the village the better. To her he was only a reminder of the redheaded little girl her grandmother had been so attached to, but to Jiraiya, the boy was a lost legacy. She had been with Jiraiya long enough and seen everything that hurt him; she would do what she could to keep him from suffering this pain too.<p>

She had searched almost everywhere, easily locating the boy's apartment and not finding him there, then tracing that distinctive chakra signature through most of Konoha. He was on the fringes, the perfect place for an ambush. She picked up her speed, cursing again. That boy obviously had no sense of self-preservation.

She arrived just in time to see a dark figure swing a katana at Naruto's neck, a moment too late to do anything but watch helplessly. The boy tried to dodge backwards, and instead the katana scraped along the side of his neck, opening a deep gash. He crumpled to the ground.

Tsunade lunged at the Root member, preventing him from being able to finish the kill. As she kicked him she brought her hands together into a single seal, and a kage bunshin popped up next to her. "Get him away!" she yelled to her copy, who nodded sharply. In one fluid motion the boy – still pouring blood from his neck – was scooped up and being carted towards the trees.

The blonde sannin focused her attention on the black clad person in front of her, eyeing the emotionless mask covering its face and the katana poised for use. "You aren't going to survive this battle."

No response but to lunge at her, moving fast enough Tsunade was hard-pressed to block and redirect with her left arm even as she unleashed a punch to the solar plexus with her right. The figure twisted gracefully out of the way and launched into a reverse swing, aiming to take off her arm. Just as easily Tsunade danced away, one leg sliding out to try and trip up the operative.

"Well, well," a voice from behind the fighting pair made both freeze – the operative coming to attention, and Tsunade recognizing that dreaded voice. The one who had pushed the hardest for the killing machines. Danzou Shimura walked along the path as though he had not a care in the world, flanked by twenty ANBU. The Root operative melted into the ground again at the sight of the official troops, disappearing from the view of all as attention was focused on Tsunade. "Senju Tsunade, one of Konoha's three greatest traitors. You certainly have courage coming back here – but foolish courage. Today you shall die."

"Oh? Do you forget, old man, that I am a Sannin? I could take you down easily." Tsunade eyed the ANBU flanking the old man with a bit more wariness. She didn't doubt her abilities, but those odds were near suicide even for her. And if she died no one would be able to save Naruto and get him to Jiraiya.

"Old I may be, but I am still a shinobi," Danzou shot back calmly, one eye regarding her impersonally. "I come from a time when wars were fought daily, and the life of a shinobi wasn't a joke to be toyed with."

"What a good representation of your time you give, as well," Tsunade countered. "Toying with the lives of others instead of yourself."

Something flashed in the man's one visible eye. "You will die here today by my hand."

"Not likely!" The blonde woman jumped back as she sensed something coming at her from the earth, and the massive dragon of stone missed her by two feet. As it shot up into the air it turned to arrow down at her, and Tsunade ran quickly through a series of hand seals. A spout of water poured from her palms, forcing the dragon off course to crash into the ground next to her and crumble into dirt. Then she was defending against Danzou who, despite having one arm in a sling, was pushing ninjutsu against ninjutsu against her. She punched out at him, only to have her fist phase through the man and be hit from behind.

Tsunade stumbled forward, planting both hands on the ground and launching into a handspring to kick out with both legs at the man behind her. He dodged one hit but not the other, and recoiled with a trickle of blood running from his cut cheekbone. "You may have skills, but they are not enough." He pulled back the patch covering his eye, and Tsunade recoiled at what was behind it. A sharingan, an eye that shouldn't be found anywhere but in three males. Danzou wasn't one of them. "Meet your fate."

"Enough!" a voice roared, and a merciless wind swept across the path, causing Danzou to quickly close his eye to protect it. Between the two appeared the Sandaime Hokage of the village, dressed in the red robes and hat that were his right.

"Sarutobi, you have arrived just in time to capture your errant student," Danzou began, only to be cut off by the furious Hokage.

"Too long have I tolerated the corruption of this village and said nothing. Too long have I turned a blind eye to activities I should have addressed decades ago. It may be too late to rectify some mistakes, but I will _not_ let this one go by once more unpunished!" In one motion he tore off his official robes of office, appearing in all his glory. He was wearing a truly formidable set of armor and looked as though he were twenty years younger, ready to go to war again. "It is time to settle scores I have waited too long to resolve; I owe it to my masters and to my students." His eyes narrowed on Danzou. "Prepare yourself."

That was all the warning the other man had before Sarutobi brought his hands together and a wooden staff appeared within them – Enma the Monkey King. A split second before the battle began, the Hokage turned his head and looked at Tsunade, his message easily read. _Go._

She went, easily breaking through the stunned men and women of the ANBU watching their leaders fight. At the edge of the woods bordering the path Naruto lay unconscious, the bleeding mostly stopped but her clone having used up all its chakra healing the wound as much as it could. She scooped up the boy and slid him onto her back, then turned to look at the battlefield. Sarutobi was pressing Danzou back, hitting at him again and again with the staff. On a chance his head turned and his eyes caught Tsunade's, they both knew.

It was up to the traitors and escapees to carry on the dream of the Hokages; Sarutobi Hiruzen was completing his last duty to the Will of Fire. Tsunade turned away and with Naruto on her back sprinted away, never looking back.


	7. Anger and Blood

Anger and Blood

Kakashi was completing his seven hundredth and forty-third circuit of the room when the door opened. Immediately he stopped, turning towards the newcomer who entered the room, prepared for anything. Jiraiya looked back at the jounin as the door closed behind him, then leaned back against the portal. "Bored already?"

The silver haired man eyed the Sannin warily. "Impatient, perhaps. Are you going to explain?"

"Oh, I think you should be the one to talk first. After all, you were in Konoha with Naruto." Jiraiya crossed his arms, indicating he wouldn't be saying anything until he got the answers he wanted. There were many things he suspected that he wanted confirmed.

"Only if you tell me what you know of sensei's death," Kakashi countered. "I know you used to be the spymaster; if anyone would know, it would be you."

"I don't think you're in the position to be demanding anything, boy." Jiraiya's tone was harsh, but Kakashi didn't flinch. He just stared at the man. "But it's a fair trade."

That was the best he was going to get, Kakashi decided. "Naruto was declared an orphan by Sandaime-sama, and put into the system. He forbid anyone from telling the boy about the Kyuubi, but that didn't stop the villagers from hating him. Only about five people in the village looked out for him, Sandaime-sama included."

"Don't tell me you, as Minato's student, weren't aware of the boy. I know exactly the kind of bond you two shared. He must have told you to look after Naruto." Jiraiya's voice was deceptively mild, but his black eyes were sparking. Kakashi didn't like the accusation in them.

"After sensei's death, I wasn't ready to take care of a child. The village needed money, so I took all the missions I could. The boy didn't need a guardian who was gone more than he was there." And he couldn't stand the reminder of his sensei being around all the time, yet another person he had lost. The only way to leave those memories was to leave the village. "Minato-sensei declared you the godfather even though you weren't there. Where were _you_?"

That spark grew into a small flame. "I was branded a _traitor_. If I ever set foot in Konoha they would try to kill me. Do you know what they would do to anyone I tried to contact? I'm sure you know the policies – tortured for information and left for dead. But you were _there_. You could have watched out for the boy, helped him, protected him! Instead I got reports he grew up mostly on the streets, dodging civilians and shinobi out for his blood. _People who should have been praising the ground he walked on_. You abandoned him to that!"

"I didn't abandon him!" Kakashi was almost shouting. "If you care about the boy so much when you've only met him _once_, why didn't you come back and take him? Why did you trust him to people you knew were trying to hurt him? And if you think Naruto suffered because of you not being there, what about sensei? You walked out of Konoha without him. You didn't even fight the council's decision! No, you just turned your back on him and walked away. He told us that once, even though he knew you had a reason for leaving, he wished you would have fought. I guess your pattern never changes, abandon the father, abandon the son!"

A low growl was the only warning the jounin had before Jiraiya lunged at him. He welcomed it. As he drew back his fist to punch the Sannin in front of him, paper restraints snapped around his wrists and dragged him back against the wall. Opposite him, he could see the same thing happening to Jiraiya even as the man tried to fight them. The blue haired woman from earlier entered the room slowly, glaring at both men. "If you can't behave I'll leave you both in there until Tsunade comes back, understood? You aren't here to kill each other over the past, you're here to talk about Naruto." She waited until both men met her eyes and their fists relaxed before removing the restraints. The papers flowed back to her and morphed into a flower. "Good. Do that again and I'll see if you two like to be punching bags."

Kakashi and Jiraiya couldn't meet each other's eyes after Konan left, instead each staring awkwardly at either the wall or the floor. "I…" Jiraiya began, then faltered. He didn't know what to say.

"Why didn't you take Naruto to Ame?" The Sannin's head snapped up, staring at Kakashi who had moved his eye to the ceiling. He seemed to be examining it for any flaws as he continued. "It would have been much better for him than Konoha."

"I…we were at war," Jiraiya began lamely. "It wasn't the kind of situation you would put a child in, always moving around, always on alert. And I trusted Konoha to…"

"To look after Naruto the same way they did you? And Tsunade?" Again Jiraiya stared. "I may have been young twenty years ago, but I knew enough to see what happened. I know what the council did, and what lies they told. Minato-sensei never believed them either. So I ask again, why didn't you take Naruto?"

Jiraiya couldn't answer, he had no answer. He had never considered the possibility of taking Naruto from Konoha's clutches, the boy _belonged_ to the village the same way Minato did, he was to carry on his father's dream…but maybe the village didn't belong to him. He knew the place didn't _deserve_ the boy. But to take him to Ame? The room felt like it was revolving slowly.

Without looking at Kakashi the white haired man almost ran out of the room, gesturing to Konan who was standing outside to secure it. As paper covered the door once more, Jiraiya paced rapidly down the hallway leading towards entrance to the base. He had to get out of the building, he had to think. He couldn't think. He had to leave.

* * *

><p>Nagato's hands paused where they were sharpening a kunai, and he cocked his head. He felt the slightest tingle of chakra at the border of Fire Country and Ame, but unlike when that jounin had passed through his rain, he knew the chakra signature. It wasn't as strong as it should have been, and there was another, fainter one overlapping it.<p>

"Tsunade-san…" he muttered, placing the kunai on the bench in front of him. She probably needed help, and she could have pursuers – she seemed too weak to defend against any. Besides, Jiraiya would never forgive any of them if Tsunade got killed within Ame.

It wasn't too long of a trek to where he could sense her struggling through the rain, maybe ten miles. He covered it quickly, not feeling any others enter their country. But that didn't mean there weren't pursuers.

Tsunade's long blonde hair was plastered to her face when he found her, and there was a body on her back, one arm looped over her shoulder that she hung onto in order to keep the boy from falling off. "Tsunade-san!" Her head snapped up at the call tiredly, staring through the rain at the redhead who approached.

"Nagato? Where's Jiraiya?"

"He's back at base." Nagato took in the bruises on her forearm, the huge red stain spreading down her right shoulder. "I'll take him." He gestured to the blond boy on her back.

Tsunade didn't protest, handing over her burden tiredly. After using up so much of her chakra to try and heal the boy even as he tried to heal himself, and fighting Danzou even temporarily, she was exhausted. It was going to be all she could do to get back to base. Sheer willpower was all she had left.

When she stumbled through the door, the first thing she saw was Jiraiya, pain on his face as he headed for the exit. He stopped dead upon seeing her, eyes immediately shooting to the massive blood stain down her shoulder from the wound on Naruto's neck. Then Nagato entered with the boy, and she saw her teammate blanch. She had tried to heal the wound, but all she had managed to do in the end was seal the boy's jugular, which had been partially severed. It was a miracle he hadn't bled out. Even now though, his wound was bleeding sluggishly, staining Nagato's clothes red as well.

She had tried. Tsunade took a step forward, eyes never leaving Jiraiya's stunned form. She tried to take another step and stumbled, knees hitting the floor. "Sorry…"


	8. History and Changes

Oops, I didn't realize it had been so long since the last update...^^; Sorry. Enjoy

* * *

><p>History and Changes<p>

Tsunade blinked her eyes warily, wincing as the bright lights cut into her corneas. She let her eyelashes screen her vision as she took stock of her surroundings. She remembered reaching the base, Nagato behind her with Naruto, then collapsing. She could tell she was lying on something soft, and there was a pillow under her head.

When her eyes had adjusted to the light mostly, she turned her head to the right and saw a wall. "Other way," a deep voice told her, a suppressed laugh in the tone. Obediently – not that she would ever use that word – Tsunade turned her head to the right and saw Jiraiya sitting in a chair between two beds. Past the white haired man she saw a woman leaning over the other bed, checking the vitals of a smaller blond lying there.

Konan straightened and looked towards Tsunade just as the woman asked "Is he alive?"

The blue haired woman sighed and looked at Tsunade seriously, folding her hands in front of her. "He'll live thanks to you, but the wound on his neck was pretty serious, and he lost a lot of blood. You healed the interior damage to his neck and replenished some of his blood, but he'll be unconscious for the next few days as his body recuperates."

Tsunade let out a sigh of relief and relaxed back in the bed slightly. She would have hated for all her rushing and hard work to go to waste, not to mention dealing with Jiraiya. Konan nodded to both Sannin and left, giving the two a bit of privacy.

"You've been out for a day," Jiraiya broke the silence, black eyes boring into hers from where he sat next to her bed. "Actually a day and a half to be precise. It's morning." When she winced he gave her a crooked grin. "At least you caught up on your beauty sleep."

"Like I need it," she scoffed, hitting out at him lightly. He dodged it, laughing, then the smile slid from his face.

"What happened in Konoha?"

Tsunade let out an involuntary sigh. "We've lost Konoha. I went to see sensei first, and we got into an argument. I told him he was no better than Orochimaru –" Jiraiya sucked in a breath at the name "–and that he should have stopped the council long ago." Now she felt ashamed for saying what she had, even though it was true. It was practically her fault he was dead now. "I found Naruto close to the training fields just as a Root operative attacked him…he managed to dodge the killing blow, but it still got his jugular. I got him out of the way and fought the scum just as Danzou showed up with a bunch of ANBU for witness."

"So much for being unnoticed."

She let out a brittle laugh. "Yeah. All our policies went to hell at that point. Danzou attacked me, but then sensei showed up. He told Danzou he had put up with corruption for too long…and that he was going to set it right. He let me escape Jiraiya, he sacrificed himself for us." Tears swam in her eyes as she finished, as she hadn't allowed herself to grieve while running to save Naruto's life. Jiraiya's hand reached out and clasped her own in comfort, closing his own eyes in remembrance.

Their 'Will of Fire' had been inherited from the man, and he had taught them the basics of almost everything they knew. The least they could do was try to carry on his legacy now that he was gone.

This time Tsunade broke the silence after a few minutes. "Konoha has truly fallen now."

* * *

><p>Outside of the infirmary Nagato leaned against the wall, musing over everything he had heard. Jiraiya had talked to both blondes in the room while they were unconscious, musing to himself.<p>

_"I always thought Nagato was supposed to be the child of prophecy, the one to change the world. But then I went back to Konoha, leaving him alone. He could change the world, he had the power to do it. Then Minato was the strong one, the nice one, cut out to be the savior. I had to leave before I could finish his training, so he had to grow up on his own." He stopped and ran a hand over his face, letting out a long sigh. "Where did I screw up? I tried to make everything right, we freed Ame, and Nagato proved himself again. He's strong now, probably stronger than he ever would have been if I hadn't come back."_

_Nagato heard the chair scrape as Jiraiya readjusted himself and held his breath, not daring to make a sound lest the Sannin know he was there. Jiraiya rarely ever talked about the past, not even when pressed._

_"Minato named you for a character in my book, I know it. He loved The Tale of the Gutsy Ninja, even though I always thought it was stupid after a while. Icha Icha sold better before I had to leave. My Naruto was the strongest, the bravest, and the fastest, out to save the world the best he knew how. I based him on me, and on Nagato, so I guess you have a bit of a legacy to live up to. A Sannin, a prophecy, and a Hokage – what a great combination. Naruto was supposed to save the world. Is that what Minato intended for you?" A sigh. "What would you have been like, if you had grown up in Ame? Would you have fulfilled your destiny?"_

He had heard Jiraiya use that term only once before – Child of Prophecy. He had been muttering to himself about the toad elders and an odd vision, about how the Child of Prophecy would save the world. But Nagato, to be him? And for there now to be another boy who had a claim to Jiraiya, that the Sannin would insist on training. It was a lot to think about.

Would he be able to accept Naruto?

* * *

><p>Danzou Shimura looked around at the full council that had gathered at his summons. Homura and Koharu flanked him, and a table full of clan leaders looked back at him. The Hokage's chair was consciously empty.<p>

"Council members," he began, not bothering to raise his voice. In the room, a dropped pin could be heard, "Sarutobi Hiruzen has betrayed Konoha." He waited for the few gasps that were heard to quiet. "He attacked me in full view of the ANBU forces, in defense of the traitor Senju Tsunade." Muttering now.

"Where is the old man?" Inuzuka Tsume spoke up, sharp eyes roaming the room. "If he betrayed Konoha like you said, he should be here to defend himself."

"Yes, the accused must be able to contest the claims against them," Aburame Shibi spoke up in his impartial voice. "It is law."

"As I said, he attacked me as witnessed by the ANBU forces. I had no choice but to defend myself. Sarutobi Hiruzen is dead." The volume rose from muttering to an uproar.

"The Hokage is dead?" Akimichi Chouza roared, pounding one huge fist on the table.

Yamanaka Inoichi was quieter, but just as passionate. "Sandaime-sama was one of the strongest in the village. For him to fall…"

Nara Shikaku sat quietly next to his friends, gazing over his fingertips at the table. "Sandaime-sama was passionate about the defense of this village. To defy the laws he helped create to protect his student…"

With five limping steps Danzou moved to the place of the Hokage at the head of the table and sat down. "As the only available candidate for the position of Hokage on such short notice, I will don the mantle of the leader of this village."

Homura spoke up from next to the chair, almost shouting over the clan leaders that were arguing back and forth. "Danzou-sama has the support of both advisors, and that is all that is deemed necessary by emergency laws put in place for this village. As Sandaime-sama died without naming a successor, it is our choice as to who will become the next Hokage."

"I won't accept it!" Tsume snarled, her long nails biting into the wooden table. "The jounin have a say in who becomes the next Hokage by law. I won't choose a stinking rat!"

"While I do not agree with Inuzuka-san's sentiments, I must agree," Hyuuga Hiashi spoke up. "The jounin must have a vote in who next leads the village for the good of all."

A few of the other clan leaders asserted their support of that concept as well. Danzou simply watched, his one eye unreadable, until all had quieted. "To act against the Hokage is treason punishable by death. I will pardon all in this room once, but not twice. If you are found guilty once more, you will be labeled a traitor to Konoha, and therefore punished by imprisonment and death. That is the word of the Hokage."

Complete silence reigned as fourteen sets of eyes watched the new Hokage limp out of the room.


	9. Visits and Whispers

Visits and Whispers

Naruto blinked his eyes open to a white ceiling, a stark contrast to the blue sky he remember last, right before falling unconscious. Some weird guy in black had attacked him, and he had _tried_ to dodge, but obviously he hadn't done a great job if he was in the hospital again. Well, if it was anything like his last visits to the hospital, Sakura-chan and Sasuke would be in at any moment, berating him for his stupidity and pretending they _hadn't_ cared about him…

The blond sat up, feeling something on his neck pull. He raised a hand to touch the spot and found a pad of bandage over it – when he pressed, it hurt slightly. For Kyuubi to have not healed it yet the wound had to be pretty severe. Speaking of time…how many days had he been out?

A harsh beeping sound cut through his thoughts and Naruto's head whipped around to the source – a bad idea as the wound on his neck sent a bolt of pain through his skull at the action. The door to the room opened and the blonde from that day in the forest – Senju Tsunade – stalked in, green coat billowing behind her. Without so much as a word to the boy she placed both hands on his chest and shoved him onto his back on the bed, ignoring his protests.

"Hey, lady, where am I? What happened?" He remembered her showing up just as the weird guy cut with his sword, but then it was all blank, not even bits and pieces of memory. But that was in Konoha. She wouldn't be in the village…"Where's Konoha?"

Tsunade's eyes glanced at the monitor hooked up to Naruto's chest, reading pulse rate and blood pressure from it, then shining a light in both the boy's eyes and checking other vitals. The pad of bandages on his neck was starting to turn a faint red again, proof he had pulled the wound, but other than that he seemed stable. "You're lucky to be alive," she growled, pushing him back once more as he tried to sit up. "Don't tempt fate by moving." Whirling on one heel, she left the room, leaving Naruto pissed off and frustrated with lack of answers.

He immediately disregarded her second statement. If there was anything wrong with him, Kyuubi would fix it fast enough. Instead, he had to explore where he was, get a sense of the land and find a way out of the place back to Konoha.

Sitting up and swinging both legs over the edge of the bed, Naruto fought off the wave of disorientation that accompanied the move. As he tried to slide off the bed, his left leg buckled and he pitched to the side, muscles tingling, barely catching himself with his hand. So much for standing. With slow movements the boy slid back onto the bed, glaring at the floor as though it was the cause for all his problems.

"Getting adventurous are we?" Naruto hadn't even heard the man come in. With a yelp he spun around – or tried to, and ended up falling over on the bed, legs behind him. The man let out a rumbling laugh. "It must be genetics."

"Why am I here? Where am I? What are you doing here? Where's my team?" Naruto immediately shot off, _needing_ information.

"Your sensei is here, and that's all you need to know for now," Jiraiya replied, crossing his arms and looking at the blond boy sprawled on his bed.

"What's Kakashi-sensei doing here? I want to see him! I –"

"Shut up."

"No! Why should I listen to you? You won't tell me anything!"

"Because if you don't I'll knock you flat on your ass until you don't know up from down." There was nothing in Jiraiya's eyes to indicate that he was bluffing, and Naruto's mouth shut with a snap. "That's better. Now. Do you still have the kunai I gave you?" Naruto gave a mute nod, eyeing the man distrustfully. There was a chance he would go through with his threat if the boy talked after all. "Where is it?"

Naruto reached for the weapons pouch that always hung at his waist – and his fingers met empty air. That wasn't right. He twisted around frantically, trying to see where his weapons had gone, then patted the bed around him, down his legs, his torso, under the pillow…he caught a glimpse of Jiraiya's expression. The man was watching him with a wry grin, then tossed something at the bed. Naruto caught it reflexively, feeling the familiar shape of his toolkit hit his hands. In a few seconds of riffling he produced the kunai and held it out, showing it to the Sannin.

"Good. That kunai belongs to you."

The blond let out a snarl. "You told me that before! But nobody will tell me _why!_ Kakashi-sensei said it belonged to the Yondaime, but why would it belong to me then?"

The white haired man let out a chuckle. "You mean you haven't put all the pieces together by now?" A blank expression met his eyes. "Actually…" he examined the boy, eyes sweeping over his face and hair. "Since you're their son, I doubt you would. It's _too_ obvious for you to recognize."

"What's that supposed to mean? Just tell me already!" He was jittering on the bed, from nerves, excitement, and annoyance. Something that connected him and the Yondaime? The coolest guy in the world after the two Sannin? It had to be great. For a moment he could forget that he was probably in enemy territory, his sensei could be captured, he had almost been killed…

Jiraiya rolled his eyes. "The Yondaime was your father. That kunai belongs to you by birthright."

Whatever he had been expecting it wasn't that. Not that large of a bomb. "I don't have a father."

"Idiot, everyone has a father or they wouldn't be born. I trained yours," Jiraiya countered. "I watched the early stages of the development of that technique, and I know how he used the kunai even if I can't replicate it. I know what I'm talking about."

"But…then…people would know…right?" He didn't like how his voice came out, a bit higher than he wanted and breathy.

Jiraiya growled darkly. "Oh, they knew. At least, a few did. The council members voted that you not be given your father's name, that your heritage be kept a secret from the village and the world outside. If the village knew, you would have been treated like royalty, like that Uchiha brat. Instead, the old fools passed you off as the orphan child Minato chose to seal the fox in. A few whispered lies here and there. 'He could be the fox itself.' 'He'll never have control.' 'It's a demon.'" He watched Naruto's face grow cold at the all too familiar words. "Rumors don't start themselves, they always have a source."

"They knew." Under the blond's light voice there was a snarl. "_Anyone they can't control, they try to destroy. Learn that quick boy, and learn it well._ They meant to kill me."

"Ding ding ding." For the facetious comment, there was no hint of laughter in Jiraiya's face. "You're in Ame right now, boy, and it's the safest place for you at the moment."

* * *

><p>"To be elected as such, without consulting the jounin, is unheard of."<p>

"Ya think he cares about that? Konoha ain't a village anymore, it's a barracks. Free will went out the window the moment he sat in that chair."

"Few of the village is loyal to him."

"At the moment we cannot make a move, not without knowing exactly who his supporters are."

"Let's just overrun the tower and be done with it! He can't take us all out."

"And you think you can battle all his Root forces, woman? We'd be dead before we made it a step closer."

"Just because you don't have the guts, white-eyes…"

"Enough. We must bide our time and gather information."

A voice floated out of the shadows behind the group, and a figure melted out of the wall. "Treasonous thoughts. But one man's enemies are another man's friends." The kunai thrown at the shadow passed right through. "Hasty. I won't harm you or betray you, unless you betray me. Bide your time, and bide it well. Gather knowledge and prepare to strike. When the time is right…" the figure snapped it's fingers and a model of Konoha made out of paper appeared on the table, only to explode into small strips, "Konoha shall be born anew." The torn papers reformed themselves into another village, that was slightly different. It was almost unnoticeable. "Remember." The visitor melded with the wall once more and disappeared.

The group stared at the replica on the table, trying to see what had changed.


	10. Loyalty and Rebellion

Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah all!

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><p>Loyalty and Rebellion<p>

Kakashi looked out at the indoor training complex inside the sprawling residence Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato called home. Many of their troops had homes nearby, all connected by a maze-like network of tunnels, but the mansion had most of the facilities. There were many Narutos spread out all over the grassy ground, in clusters and groups jabbering to each other excitedly. The boy was working on some new technique Jiraiya had begun showing him after he was well enough to be released from the hospital.

"Impressive, eh?" Jiraiya spoke up from behind him; Kakashi didn't turn around. He had known the man was standing there for a few minutes already, but wasn't prepared to initiate a conversation with the Sannin after their…discussion. "He's a fast learner, must get it from his dad."

"Minato-sensei was brilliant," Kakashi agreed neutrally, watching as a few of the Naruto clones popped and the original stilled for a second, then began running around even faster, shouting more instructions to his clones.

"Oh lighten up." Jiraiya rolled his eyes, slapping the younger man on the back. "I'm not mad at you, I probably needed points like those slammed into my head. But that's all in the past, and the boy in front of us is the one we have to protect _now_. Can you agree to protect him at all costs?"

Kakashi eyed the blond boy that looked so much like his old sensei, down to the blond hair and bright blue eyes. "I can."

"Then we're good." Again Jiraiya clapped the man on the back, an even though Kakashi flinched, he grinned under his mask.

* * *

><p>"I, Hatake Kakashi, do so swear my loyalty to Amegakure and its people. I promise to obey its leaders unconditionally, and to obey all orders without hesitation." He knelt before a simple wooden chair in a small room, upon which Yahiko sat as the leader of Ame. On either side of the chair stood Nagato and Konan, while in the back of the room Jiraiya and Tsunade bore witness to the oath.<p>

"I, Yahiko, do acknowledge your loyalty and accept you into the ranks of Ame. Welcome, Hatake Kakashi." With the formal words out of the way, Yahiko sprang off his chair and sauntered forward, clapping Kakashi on the back. "Welcome indeed. Now, it's time for some food!"

* * *

><p>Two months later, Naruto had been placed on a team consisting of Konan, Nagato, and one of the junior members of Ame, doing a regular perimeter check. Being close to at least two of five major villages, they had to be on constant alert for any activity near the borders.<p>

Naruto was walking along the cliffs near the border of Konoha as the rest of his team spread out behind and in front, looking for any intruders upon their land Nagato's rain could have missed, when he saw a flash of pink and red from the corner of his eye. He turned his head, but it was gone. Passing it off as his imagination, the blond ran a few hundred meters to catch up with Konan, when he caught the same colors again. This time he didn't turn his head, only waited until they showed a third time. The same colors his old teammate used to wear.

"I know you're there!" His yell startled Konan and the other young member of the team, but he didn't care. There were people from Konoha over there, people he _knew_, and he had no intent of letting them slip by unnoticed. "Come out!"

True to shinobi form, not a leaf stirred from his announcement. Naruto grumbled to himself, but formed a surreptitious seal. He had learned to project clones to places further away from his body, and he sent one into Konoha territory, behind where he estimated the group to be. Not a minute later Sakura darted out of the bushes, sending a kunai back at the clone who disappeared in a cloud of smoke, purpose fulfilled.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto cried gladly, taking in his once-teammate's appearance. "What are you doing here?"

Instead of greeting him with a smile, the girl glared at him. "I could say the same of you. They told us you died! And I find you here and alive, on the side of the enemy?"

"W-What? We aren't your enemies! We just…" He trailed off as a familiar raven boy stepped out of the foliage as well, black eyes hard. "Sasuke-teme!"

Instead of replying with the customary 'dobe', Sasuke stared at the Ame team, eyes unreadable. His black hair was longer than it had been, framing his face and falling over the back of his neck, and his previous genin outfit of loose blue and white had been replaced for a tight-fitting black mesh and leather suit. Sakura's hair had been cut much shorter, ending just under her earlobes, and she too wore a tighter set of clothing, although in the same shade of red as her previous dress.

"Sakura-chan, why are you dressed like that? What's your team, where –" Naruto was cut off by Konan putting a hand over his mouth and signaling for quiet.

"There's one more person with them, at least jounin rank," she whispered in his ear, and looked meaningfully at Nagato. His eyes narrowed as he tried to see through the foliage, catching sight of a slight rustle in a tree. "Remember what Jiraiya said about Konoha. Danzou is the new Hokage, they're different now." She would have dragged the boy away by the scruff of his jacket normally, but he needed closure. Just as all of them had after the war…it was just a different battlefield.

"Sakura-chan, why are you serving Danzou?" The blond's voice was softer as he stared across the dividing line of two countries at his once-teammates. "Why have you turned your backs on the teachings of the Sandaime and the Hokages before him?"

She was silent.

Sasuke, however, had no such reservations about answering. "You wouldn't understand, weakling that you are," he spat, eyes narrowing. "You 'died', didn't you? Spirited away by a guardian angel. You didn't witness the _power _of the man. He taught me how to wield the Sharingan, and how to break a bone in a single blow. I've learned more from him in two months than I did in six years with the old school! I'm stronger now than ever, and I'm certainly stronger than _you_."

"So you forget about the man who fed you and gave you a home, who visited class and looked out for you?" Naruto's voice was harsh as a crow's, blue eyes like ice. Sakura fidgeted under the glare, twitching at her pants with one hand as she looked down.

"You wouldn't understand…it was join or die," she whispered, casting an anxious glance behind her at the trees. "He recruited all the shinobi forces, and most of the civilians too. Those who resisted…" she gave a convulsive shudder. "If the're alive now, I wish for their sakes they weren't. He has some of the clan leaders locked up – for conspiracy he says. Konoha's different now Naruto. We don't have a choice."

"We don't need one!" Sasuke overrode his teammate. "We're finally _strong_! And we could crush you weaklings in an instant." He made to step forward, to cross the boundary line, but a black clad figure blurred and landed in front of him, forcibly stopping the boy from entering.

"It is Danzou-sama's will that we do not leave Konoha's territory," the man stated in a monotone voice, slightly muffled by his mask. "Danzou-sama's will is law. If the law is broken, you will be punished." Both genin gave a convulsive shudder at that.

Sasuke leaned around the man and glared at Naruto, who was staring at the 'team leader'. "We'll meet again, dobe. And when we do, you'll be nothing but a smear on the rocks, without laws to hold me back." He spun on a heel and disappeared into the forest of Konoha once more, Sakura casting one last glance back at Naruto before following.

The blond boy let out a trembling sigh, sinking to the ground. He had known things were bad, but Konoha seemed as though it was unrecognizable from the place he had left. Nagato placed a hand on his shoulder, offering silent comfort. He too knew what it was like to have his home ripped from your grasp, changed by forces outside his control.

* * *

><p>Mitarashi Anko paced the large cell restlessly. It wasn't like she had much of a choice to walk to. Move forward, turn to avoid a wall. Turn again, and again…walk in a rectangle. After a month, she was <em>bored.<em>

"Would you stop that?" The cultured voice belonged to Hyuuga Hiashi, who sat against one of the walls with his eyes closed. There were chakra repressors on both his wrists and ankles, preventing him from using Jyuuken. He had been rounded up as part of the resistance fighting against Danzou. He was honestly one of the last people any of the village expected to take part, thinking the man would hole up in his compound and kowtow to the ruthless leader. Instead he had taken down four Root members on his own before being rounded up as an example with the two of them.

The third occupant of the cell, Akimichi Chouza, was lying down on the small cot he was provided, both arms hanging off the side. He had lost a lot of weight from the lack of food given – the guards didn't really care if they missed a day or not, but his lineage was still apparent in his bulk.

"What are they doing up there?" Anko hissed to herself, though the question was more directed towards her cell mates. "We've been fighting for three months, the lazy bastards should have taken him out by now. It's not that hard."

"You know better than that," Chouza spoke up, voice rumbling in the large stone room. "He has supporters and forces everywhere, and they must avoid being caught. Even if he knows who most are, there must be proof."

Anko growled, but knew he had a point. They had all been taken because they had been 'caught in the act' of doing various things – she had been raiding the library, searching for scrolls confiscated by Danzou. Chouza had been on a scouting mission in the headquarters and been betrayed by a Root member. They never made that mistake again. Hiashi had been in the longest.

"Three of the resistance, locked underground," a voice floated out of a corner, and a figure stepped out of the wall, cloaked in darkness.

"You took your sweet time," Anko turned on her heel and hissed, but backed up when the stranger moved forward. Whoever it was, they were the only link to the outside world the group had. "What's happened?"

"It is almost time, events are moving into place. Konoha has been irrevocably changed." The figure waved a hand and a model of Konoha appeared in the middle of the floor, much as it had at the first meeting of the jounin after Danzou's self-appointment. However this time, Danzou's face was prominent on the mountain, and many of the small shops and businesses of Konoha were gone. In their places were large barracks, meant to hold many troops. "As he overstretches, the rebellion will begin, wiping Konoha clean and starting anew. Pushed from both inside and out," the model crumpled into a ball, "he shall fall. And from the ashes shall rise the new Konoha."

"_When?_" Anko was frustrated beyond belief. The models were all well and good, but she wanted _action_, not just plans.

"Soon." With another wave of the stranger's hand, the miniature transformed into a new Konoha, one with the mountain wiped clean of Danzou's face. "It will be a blank slate, use it well." Then the figure was gone, melted into the shadows and through the wall.

Hiashi let out a long breath, closing his eyes. "Soon. Cryptic as always."

Anko nodded her agreement, but stared at a corner of the cell. "Come out, I know you're there." A small snake slithered across the floor to her, winding up her leg until she picked it up and placed it around her neck. "You heard it all?" The snake nodded once, scaly head moving oddly. "Good. Go tell Nara, leave nothing out."


	11. Plans and Reasons

Plans and Reasons

Jiraiya looked around the table at the group of people he had assembled. "What do we know about Konoha now?" he asked rhetorically. As the spymaster of the group, he knew more than almost anyone in the room. "Danzou has restructured the troops, conscripting civilian children into learning how to be shinobi and lowering the training time to six months. He has lowered the graduation age to nine, and put all villagers under the age of sixteen in barracks, whether or not they've been trained. He has done away with the council, dismissing all clan leaders from any decisions in the village. It's only a matter of time before he turns his gaze outwards, if he hasn't already. Did I miss anything?"

From his spot a few seats down from Jiraiya, Naruto seethed quietly, fingernails digging into the wooden tabletop. "We should go now! The longer we put off retaking Konoha, the worse it'll be! We can take him, we have the strength."

"Naruto," Nagato spoke up quietly. "Patience is required when planning on seizing a village from the outside. Defenses are always stronger against outside forces than inside."

Sitting next to the blond boy, Tsunade shot out a fist and caught him across the head. "Why do you want to save the maggot-ridden place anyway? It's getting what's been coming for a long time now. And if you go charging in, you'll only get killed anyway, idiot. Then where would you be?"

"For all the innocents!" Naruto protested, eyes not with outrage. "It's not their fault the leaders are corrupt and evil!"

"They chose –"

"Konoha deserves a chance to change, just as the one you gave us." That was Yahiko, cutting over Tsunade's harsh retort. "They're already trying to fight back. Where would we have been, had you and sensei not come back to support us? Ame would be a twisted place, still under the control of Hanzou. Was that our fault?"

The blonde woman didn't reply, instead tracing an invisible pattern on the tabletop with one finger. Jiraiya let the silence linger for a moment before breaking it. "What else do we know?"

"The jounin and clan heads have mobilized all of their available forces – the genin from before the takeover as well as most of the ANBU and chuunin. They also have all the clan members prepared for battle, civilians included, and have created safe rooms. They're just waiting on the signal."

* * *

><p>Nara Shikaku sat at an array similar to Jiraiya's, looking at his forces. The clan heads of the Aburame, Inuzuka, and Yamanaka were gathered around the table, as well as the representatives of the Akimichi and Hyuuga in the absence of those clan leaders. Chouji had stepped up to the plate admirably, playing an instrumental role in persuading his clan to partake in the resistance. He sat with his two teammates close by for support.<p>

Hinata had been deemed the clan leader by proxy in her father's absence, as clan heir. In the months between Hiashi's capture and the current time, she and Neji had come to an agreement, and the two jointly led the clan, although the clan elders still only recognized Hinata.

The others of the Konoha Twelve as the had been deemed were present, all hardened in mind and body than they had been before, except for Sasuke and Sakura. Those two were under Danzou's personal watch, and deemed too risky to let in on any plans. Their group was the youngest and last of the genin from the time before Danzou, and the reminder of what life had been before and what it could be again.

"It has been a month since our last contact with Mitarashi Anko, and the last message delivered was to wait for the signal. We must be prepared at all times to take back our village," Shikaku told the quiet room, serious eyes meeting each pair looking at him. "What is our progress?"

"The barracks for the younger children near the Root tower have seal tags hidden in the woodwork and under the bunks," Tenten spoke up first. "All the kids are ready to move at the first sound of a whistle and they know where to go."

"The rooms beneath the Hyuuga Compound have been cleared out and prepared for when that happens." Hinata had lost her stutter quickly once she had been placed in the position of clan leader, and grown a backbone of steel. "The new Academy students know what to do when they hear explosions."

"The rooms can hold three hundred students and one hundred twenty-five civilians," Neji added from where he sat next to Hinata. "We also have adequate food and water supplies in the case of a siege on the Compound."

Shikaku nodded to show he had taken note of the completion of those preparations, and gestured for someone else to continue. "What about outside the walls?"

"We spread the stories of Danzou to the local farmers," Kiba grinned, showing fangs. "They don't want to sell their grain or produce to Konoha anymore, especially not when Danzou sends people to pay half price. Most of them are moving farther away from the village or go into hiding. The first few…examples…were good incentive of just what he can do."

"The crops shortage is going noticed in the Tower." Kurenai had been accepted as a secretary to handle the paperwork. She hadn't shown the protests that most of the other residents of the village had, and as such was deemed more trustworthy than them. She made a good spy. "The Root barracks have gone short again this month and they sent in a requisition for more crops. Needless to say, it 'disappeared'."

"Kurenai, does Homura come in looking over his shoulder each day now?" Asuma leaned forward and grinned, not a nice expression by any means. "I've heard he doesn't sleep anymore, too afraid of what may come out of the darkness next. Wasn't the last one the ghost of the Sandaime, crying for vengeance out of a cloud of ash?" Her grin matched his for malice.

Gai spoke up next. He had lost most of his exuberant youthfulness when Kakashi left, no longer having anyone to compete with. "We escorted another group of refugees through the tunnels last night, mostly metal workers and their families. Konoha has lost a third of her population at least."

Shikaku turned to Shibi last, asking a silent question. "The scroll to the Fire Daimyou has gone mysteriously missing," the other man told the group stoically. "Reinforcements will not be arriving."

"Very well. We are as prepared as can be for the current time. We –" He was cut off as a loud thump sounded in the front room of the complex. Nothing should have gotten past their spies without an alarm going off, and instantly all shinobi were on edge. They dispersed noiselessly, each moving to surround the room thought to be the origin of the sound.

Chouji's cry of "Tou-san!" startled the ones who hadn't reached the front yet, but when the large boy rushed forward to embrace the figure sitting dazed on the floor, they realized it wasn't an attack. Mitarashi Anko, Hyuuga Hiashi, and Akimichi Chouza sat in the middle of the Nara's front room, looking worse for the wear but alive.

Kurenai was at Anko's side in an instant, checking her friend for injuries, as Hinata and Neji both approached Hiashi tentatively. The other jounin and genin moved forward to surround the released prisoners, questions babbling.

Nara Shikaku stayed behind the throng, taking in the scene. Lying on the floor by the doorway was a white scrap of paper, one he knew hadn't been there before. He picked it up, immediately scanning the words upon it, and grinned savagely in satisfaction.

"It is time."


	12. Battle and Duty

I really really appreciate it that people are reading, especially those of you who read parts of this before - but for those who haven't, could you please drop a review with anything that you think could use fixing, tips for my writing style, or anything? Thank you.

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><p>Battle and Duty<p>

Tsunade stood next to Jiraiya at the edge of the forest, deep enough in the shadows of a twilight dawn that they were almost invisible. Behind them was a force of Ame nin, over a hundred strong, waiting for the signal. They were prepared to follow their leaders, leaders that had led them to victory of their own in the past.

"Are you ready?" Tsunade asked, not turning her head to look at the man beside her. She wasn't asking was he ready to fight for the freedom of a village, ready to possibly kill again. No, she was wondering if he was ready to step back into a place that had banished them, thrown them from their home.

He looked at her, answering a question with a question. "Will we ever be ready?" She gave a slight shrug. It was a query she didn't know the answer to. When she had rescued Naruto, it was a mission in her mind, a mission to a foreign village that she happened to know her way around. It wasn't her former home.

She remembered running through the streets, chasing Jiraiya with a fist upraised. Meeting at the front gate with the rest of their team, preparing for yet another boring mission. Finding out their sensei had been chosen as the Sandaime Hokage, and throwing a party for him. Working in the hospital as people looked down on her for her age, despite her medical prowess. Orochimaru's experiments and subsequent abandoning of Konoha. Sensei's sorrow. Finding out Jiraiya had been deemed a traitor for helping three orphans they had found in Ame. Fending off attackers as she insisted it was _her_ research, and they had no right to use it. Running out of Konoha herself, the last of the three Sannin to leave.

"No, I don't think we'll ever be ready."

* * *

><p>Nagato stood next to Konan with their force on the other side of the village from the two Sannin, looking at the village he was about to help reclaim. "Today we shall bring to Konoha the peace that was brought to Ame. We shall pay our debt to those who helped us."<p>

Konan looked at him askance. "We owe Konoha nothing. All they did was harm our friends."

Nagato closed his eyes briefly, considering her statement. "We owe them for what they have done to Tsunade and Jiraiya, as twisted as it is. Without Konoha, Ame would never be free."

* * *

><p>Kakashi and Yahiko flanked the path to the gates of Konoha, staring at the painted wooden doors. Kakashi looked as relaxed as usual, hands in pockets and one eye covered, but there was tension in his shoulders and his mouth was set in a grim line. He was wearing an Ame hitai-ate.<p>

"After Konoha is free, I will release you from your bonds to Ame. You never belonged to us."

The jounin only nodded.

* * *

><p>Inside Konoha teams stole silently through the village, each intent on reaching their destination unnoticed by Danzou's lackeys.<p>

Shikamaru and Genma led a team consisting of Chouji, Ino, Kiba, and Neji through the shadows of the streets, working on flanking Danzou's residence. Gai guided Kurenai, Asuma, Kiba, and Hinata through the tunnels under the village he had come to know so well to get in position near the Root barracks – their job was to stall the forces as long as possible. Groups of two spread out across the rooftops, each with a different destination in mind. Tenten and Anko moved to the barracks of the genin, Hiashi and Chouza to the Academy, Inoichi and Tsume to the Hokage Tower, Lee and Shino to the Hyuuga Compound. Shikaku and Shibi stayed on top of the Hokage Monument, where they could see everything happening in the village and send messages as necessary.

The various clans and other forces of the village in opposition of Danzou were on alert, each waiting in their own compound or barracks, waiting for the signal the attack was beginning.

* * *

><p>Tsunade and Jiraiya looked at Naruto where he stood in front of them, practically vibrating in place. He was ready, determination in every line of his body. "For him?"<p>

"For all of them." They set off the signal.

* * *

><p>Everyone saw the bright beacon as it shot into the sky. If that wasn't a signal, nothing was. The Root members guarding the walls were instantly on alert, searching for invaders in front of them. They never saw the shadows that bound them and knocked them unconscious. When Ame troops swarmed in the gates moments later, they were unhindered by guards. Jiraiya led a part of his force off to the right, splitting through the smaller streets and alleys that hid them from any Root that passed over as Tsunade continued up the main path with Naruto by her side, intent on reaching the main square.<p>

Nagato heard the sound of a blade sweeping through the air and the fall of bodies from behind as he turned around to see a battalion of black-clad figures surrounding a part of his army and decimating them. He signaled Konan to continue on with the charge as he dropped back to help fight the defenders.

Kakashi didn't move with Yahiko's group; instead he prowled the streets, keeping an eye out for any shadows that didn't look right. Root-nin were stealthy, and prone to waiting until an enemy had passed them and their back was turned before attacking. Then he heard the loud roar of detonation tags and saw flames shoot up from near the Academy, and rushed towards the source.

Tenten stood back and rubbed her hands together looking at their work. "That's how you craft an explosion." Next to her, Anko chuckled and clapped the weapons mistress on the back.

"You're learning, brat." They had made sure all of the younglings were out of the barracks and well on their way to the Academy, where others were waiting to direct them to safe spots from the fighting, before setting off the explosive tags. They were trying to get the Root-nin as confused as possible and draw Danzou out of his tower if all went according to plan. It was most of Konoha against the few elite. They refused to lose.

Shikamaru signaled a halt as his team got closer to Danzou's mansion – he had claimed the abandoned Senju Compound as his residence, and the irony of that was not lost on the older citizens. "Neji, can you see anything?" he signaled the Hyuuga forward.

He focused his chakra, veins around his pale eyes bulging as he gazed through the walls and shook his head negative. "No movement anywhere in the compound. There are guards around the main building, eight surrounding and three inside."

"Okay." The Nara let out a long breath, contemplating their options. "We'll have to wait for reinforcements. We can't take them yet."

Gai's team surfaced from the tunnels well behind the Root headquarters. There were already some of the elite members rushing out, no doubt intent on first finding and securing Danzou, and it was their turn to cause a ruckus. The jounin stepped out in front of the doors and gaze calmly at the Root-nin facing him. "I believe it is time for you to stand down." Expressionless masks met his gaze as one member drew a sword. "If you do so peacefully you will not be harmed. Resist and you will die."

Giving up wasn't in the Root lexicon. As one the members in the doorway began an attack only to pause, confused, as plants sprang out of the earth and wound around their limbs. Hinata rushed forward and tapped at their chakra points, closing them off before they could recover. As Asuma and Gai collected the men and women and knocked them unconscious, Kiba launched an attack at the doorway with Akamaru, bringing it and the top two floors crashing down. "They'll have to find another way out now," he grinned, wiping a hand across his face happily as Akamaru yipped. They had moves that were sure to beat out Naruto if they ever saw him again.

* * *

><p>There wasn't a lot of battling going on so far, Jiraiya noted. Most of the Root-nin that had shown up had been dealt with – although they had certainly fought hard, they fell to overwhelming numbers of clansmen and Ame shinobi. He was beginning to wonder how Danzou had ever managed to take over in the first place with so many people against him.<p>

Tsunade ran up next to her teammate, hair mussed from battle but without a cut on her. "They can handle themselves here. I want to find Danzou and the council personally. I have a debt to repay." Jiraiya wholeheartedly agreed, breaking away from his troops and signaling for them to continue onwards. Any enemies they found would fall.

"Lead the way."


	13. Debts and Promises

I want to thank Glaceon, Miner249er, Star Josherson, and Ice Blossom, and freewolf17 for leaving reviews, especially Ice Blossom who gave me an analysis of what she liked on what I've written so far. Thank you all. One more wrap up after this.

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><p>Debts and Promises<p>

Shikamaru cursed under his breath again as he kept a wary eye on the compound. He knew it was a bad position to be in, waiting not a hundred meters away from the enemy, but they didn't have enough shinobi on their side at the current time to even try a surprise attack on the Root-nin. And everyone knew Danzou's Root forces were never taken by surprise anyway. Next to him, Neji flinched and narrowed his gaze as he scanned through the main house. "Danzou is moving."

Genma's attention snapped to the genin from where he was at the back of the group, standard senbon in mouth. "Are you sure? Where is he?"

"He's…coming out the front door now."

"I know you're out there," came the old man's rough voice, pitched to carry over the ground. "It is useless. In ten seconds, I will be gone, and you will be incapacitated." None of them responded, each instead settling into a stance prepared for battle, in an outwards facing circle with their shoulders touching. "Ten, nine…" In flickers the Root members surrounding the house were gone, appearing and disappearing in front of the group. Shikamaru sent his shadow out in an attempt to capture the shinobi who had appeared in front of him as Chouji deflected the sword from him, but the man was gone before his shadow could connect. Instead, the Nara separated it into tendrils, each seeking attackers to trap.

"Eight, seven, six, five…" Neji was striking out with his fingertips – he had managed to get a total of two solid hits before his enemies flickered away. Ino and Genma were hard-pressed just defending, and didn't have time to execute any moves. "Four, three, two, one."

The black-clad figures all disappeared as eyes snapped to Danzou. The first thing Shikamaru noticed about him was that the patch that had covered the man's eyes for as long as almost anyone could remember was gone. The second was that the eye glowed a blood red. "Genjutsu," Danzou intoned, and suddenly Shikamaru couldn't look away; none of them could. He tried to bring his hands up to form the release sign, but couldn't move. He was paralyzed. For the longest time he stared straight ahead, as Danzou's sharingan eye grew larger and larger in his vision – how had the man even gotten one? Who knew what other surprises he had? Larger…until he was falling into the iris, swallowed by the blackness.

Tsunade and Jiraiya arrived a few minutes later, only to find the team of five Konoha-nin crumpled on the ground and the entire complex deserted. Jiraiya quickly rolled Genma over and checked for a pulse. "They're alive," he reported, lifting an eyelid to glance at the man's pupil. "Under a genjutsu though. We don't have time to free them, not if we want to catch Danzou."

Tsunade nodded seriously, eyes sweeping for any sign of where the man might have gone to. "He'll be trying to escape. He can't fight all of us and still expect to run a village."

"You know who else will be trying to escape?" Jiraiya met her answering grin with his own.

* * *

><p>Homura Mitokado looked out over Konoha as bands of shinobi raced through the street – clan members and Root-nin, ANBU and Ame-nin. Konoha looked like an overturned beehive, and they were out to get the leader. And as a supporter who had helped to put Danzou in office…none of the jounin would let him off lightly, if at all.<p>

His old teammate Koharu Utatane walked up next to him, her eyes nearly lost in the wrinkles that lined her face and her hands in her sleeves. "Do you think Danzou will win?"

He sent her an askance glance. "He won't remain here. How could he win against the village itself?"

She nodded decisively, as though he had confirmed something she already considered. "Then it is time we left as well."

As they both turned, a voice oozed from the shadows of the doorway. "Not so fast." They barely felt the killing intent at first, but it inexorably grew until it was nearly palpable. Council members the two might be, but both were retired shinobi. In a blink each had a weapon in hand, poised for battle. Jiraiya sauntered forward from where he leaned against the wall, a malicious grin on his face. "Now, where were you thinking of running off to?"

"You didn't think we'd just leave you alone did you?" Tsunade's voice floated from behind them, where the window was. She stepped into the predawn light, amber eyes sparkling. "We have unfinished business."

Homura made as though to rush at Tsunade, but Jiraiya raised his hand and suddenly paper flew from all around the room, wrapping the two council members in individual cocoons. "Thank you, Konan."

Tsunade stepped forward again, patting each of the council members on the cheek. "Now, be two good little birdies and stay put while we finish our playtime, won't you? Don't worry, we won't forget you." The two Sannin disappeared again, leaving Konan gazing impassively at her prisoners.

* * *

><p>Their next stop was the head of the Sandaime Hokage, where they knew Shikaku had set up. With barely a whisper they appeared behind him and Shibi, neither of who even twitched at their arrival. "What news?"<p>

"Team Shikamaru is unconscious with a genjutsu near the Senju Mansion," Tsunade's voice ghosted over the rock head. "Where is Danzou?"

Shikaku kept his voice level even as his mind darted with worry for his son. "Moving towards the outskirts of the village, on a direct line with the training grounds." He turned his head to look at the Sannin, and saw only empty air.

* * *

><p>Naruto hummed to himself as he moved along the tree line of the training grounds. He and Jiraiya had spent a whole month working on his capability with traps and exploding tags, and his special mission during the invasion was to set up numerous traps in case anyone tried to escape through the forests and clearings on the edges of Konoha. He had already strung wires through the undergrowth and right above branches to trip up the unwary. Other tags were littered in clearings disguised as leaves for someone to step on.<p>

The blond boy heard the crunch of someone walking slowly through the underbrush as he was tying another wire to a tree root, and paused. Another crunch an another footfall as the intruder inexorably moved forward. If Naruto wasn't mistaken…

A loud bang and flash echoed through the clearing, and in one swift move Naruto was hiding behind a tree, looking at Danzou as he flinched back from the exploding tag. He was clutching at his right eye as though in extreme pain, and didn't seem to notice Naruto's presence. Perfect.

"Hey you! You're the reason I almost died!" the blond boy yelled out, running at the man. Danzou dodged to the side as Naruto punched at him, but didn't seem to be collected enough to fight back. "I owe you something!" He launched a kick towards Danzou's head that the man again dodged, albeit barely, but turned in mid-air and sent his other foot speeding towards the man's nether regions, where it connected with a solid thwack.

Seasoned shinobi that he was, Danzou didn't show any sign of pain but for an immediate widening of his eyes, but Naruto felt great just the same. And it was time to hightail out of the vicinity, because when Danzou _was_ able to attack…

"Nice going, brat," a woman's voice called, suppressed laughter shaking the tone. "Now scram." Naruto needed no further encouragement as he ran past Tsunade, who ruffled his hair as he did. She knew there was a reason to like the boy. "Well well, you old fossil, I'm surprised you can still walk."

Danzou straightened and took his hand away from his right eye, which was streaming with red-tinged tears. The Sannin wasn't surprised in the least to see he had a sharingan in the socket. "You have no business here, Senju Tsunade. You have been banished from Konoha, upon pain of death. As Hokage, it is my duty to fulfill the law."

Jiraiya snorted from next to his teammate. "Of course you'd follow the law when it suits you. There's one stipulation to that decree that you're overlooking." His voice turned deadly serious. "You have to beat us first."

"I don't believe that will be a problem."

"Overconfident asshole, isn't he?" Tsunade asked her teammate lightly. She was building chakra through her body, muscles and nerves vibrating with the urge to move. She could sense Jiraiya gathering himself as well. He nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Overconfidence is a trait that kills the non-careful," Danzou stated, pulling at the wrappings over his arm. As Tsunade appeared behind him, he turned to the side, allowing her fist to whistle past him even as her leg curved around for a kick that didn't connect.

"_Doton: Yomi Numa!"_ Jiraiya called out as Tsunade leapt away, moving to a tree branch as the ground beneath Danzou's feet turned to mud. But the Hokage wasn't there. From behind the only warning Jiraiya had of an attack was the rustling of the leaves, and he darted to the side just as a sphere of wind blew through where he had been standing.

"You were behind exiling both of us from Konoha," Tsunade called out. "You couldn't stand having people that wouldn't listen to you, so you tried to get rid of us!"

"What of it?" Danzou jumped into the air and Jiraiya shot a fireball at him, but on a sharp exhalation the older man changed directions and shot away from both Sannin.

"You will learn," Jiraiya stated, hair curling around him and muffling his voice temporarily as he blocked three kunai Danzou sent at him, "that was the biggest mistake you could ever make, besides killing sensei."

In a sudden move Tsunade was behind Danzou again even as Jiraiya formed a rasengan and lunged forward – Danzou was focused on dodging Jiraiya's swirling sphere and was caught unprepared as Tsunade's fist crashed into his the back of his head, sending him forward. Again he exhaled sharply and flew away from both, but this time there was no relief.

"_Gamayudan_!" A stream of sticky oil spewed from Jiraiya's mouth, covering Danzou from head to toe at the same time Tsunade called out "_Katon: Endan!"_ A ball of fire hit the man, engulfing him in a giant fireball as the oil burned fierce and fast.

"Think we got him?" The blonde woman asked her teammate, landing on the edge of the still swampy mud created by Jiraiya.

"Yeah, we finally settled the debt," he replied, eyes on the burning figure that was quickly becoming no more than ash and metal.

"He should have been able to fight harder."

"Maybe sensei weakened him a bit," Jiraiya shrugged. "He never would go down without a fight of his own."

"Yeah." With a sigh, the blonde woman turned away, and caught a glimpse of black and purple out of the edges of her vision. "Jiraiya."

"I see him." The toad sage's voice was low. Orochimaru had been skulking in the background for a few minutes, but hadn't interfered with the battle. "What do you want, teme?" he called, gathering chakra once more.

"Ku ku ku, can't I just visit old friends?" came the sibilant voice, and Orochimaru slunk out of the shadows. He was as pale as they both remembered, odd purple highlights around his eyes and a cream robe tied at the waist with a large purple sash.

"We know you better than that," Tsunade countered, fists tightening. She would love to take out this other thorn in their side.

"Now now, I'm not here to fight." The sickly smile remained on Orochimaru's face. "I'm just keeping up with current events. One must remain informed, mustn't one?"

Tsunade's eye twitched slightly at that phrasing, but she didn't attack. "You've seen what you need to, leave before I kick you out forcibly."

"Such violence, Tsunade-chan, one would think you've learned nothing in the past twenty years." He ignored her growl. "It seems I'm not welcome here," he began sliding into the ground, "now that Konoha is under new leadership. But no village is ever safe forever…" His voice faded as his head slipped under the soil.

Jiraiya stared at the spot where their third teammate had disappeared. "What do you think the teme meant by that?"

Tsunade sighed. "I don't know, and I don't care. The next time he shows that snake face of his around here though I'm going to kill him." She wasn't exaggerating.

"Around here?" He caught onto her phrasing. "Are we going to stay?" Tsunade looked at him like a deer caught in headlights. "Should we stay? Konoha isn't our home anymore, but…"

She knew exactly what he meant. "It needs our help more than Ame. And we owe it a debt of sorts…"

"We can actually have some say in how it's run."

The blonde woman leveled a finger at her teammate. "Fine. But I'm _not_ living inside these walls. Got it?"


	14. Dreams and Teams

And a nice wrap up chapter to the whole thing. Thanks for reading!

* * *

><p>Dreams and Teams<p>

True to her word, Tsunade didn't live within the walls of the village. Instead, she lived with Jiraiya in a wooden house created for the two by Yamato – a wooden house that had plenty of rooms and doors so Jiraiya could escape from Tsunade's wrath when he sparked it. Even then, the mokuton user would be called every so often out to patch up walls and floors from the blonde woman's punches. "It's always his fault!"

They were set up a bit into the forest, next to a stream that ran through the trees so the two Sannin would always have a nice place to relax – and Jiraiya a place to peep if people happened by. Sometimes, his apologetic yells could be heard floating through windows in the village, and people would just smile and shake their heads knowingly. But it was definitely a relaxing life, and both thought they definitely deserved it. Two wars and a rebellion later, it was time to calm down. All they had to do was provide a bit of sagely advice now and again to the new leadership of Konoha.

And what an interesting leadership it was. Kakashi had been offered the position of Hokage once everything had settled down, but had declined it politely. It seemed his stint in Ame had made him want more than ever to just train a team and work with them, not spend each day cooped up in an office working on paperwork. So the job was offered to the next best man – Shikaku. The lazy Nara was halfway through turning it down when his wife showed up behind him and stuck a frying pan in his face. "Nara Shikaku, if you don't take this job, you'll be making dinner every day for the rest of your life!" Needless to say, paperwork was much less of a hassle than making dinner.

More often than not the raven was caught napping on the job, and swiftly brought back to consciousness by Yoshino.

As the Hokage's advisors, not to be confused with the Hokage's consultants the Sannin, Hyuuga Hiashi and Inuzuka Tsume had been chosen. More often than not the two could be heard arguing fiercely about some minor point or other – at least Shikaku got a varied opinion instead of one united front. It also meant that the stock of headache remedy pills disappeared within the first week of his leadership.

Uchiha Sasuke decided that Jiraiya and Tsunade obviously had much more power than Danzou if they were able to beat him so easily, and that _he must learn from them_. Of course, they didn't see how he needed power so he could go and defeat someone so far out of his league it would be like swatting a fly. They didn't care to either. After the fifth time he had barged into their house Tsunade threw him out. Forcibly. Naruto swore the teme had flown all the way to Konoha without touching the ground once. The Uchiha decided that if the two Sannin in residence weren't going to teach him, he would just have to go to the third one. When he 'mysteriously' disappeared one day, neither Tsunade nor Jiraiya was surprised in the least.

When they received a report a few months later that one of Orochimaru's bases had been demolished by a red eyed man who could summon black fire, they figured Sasuke had gotten his wish one way or another.

Team Seven had been briefly reunited before Sasuke left, but there were still all the new genin created under Danzou's reign to place. They did have the necessary skills to survive, and it was decided that placing them back in the Academy would only be detrimental. So instead, they were distributed among the existing teams. Kurenai's team got Moegi, Asuma's team Udon, Gai's team Konohamaru – for which Neji cursed everyone involved in that decision – and team Seven was given Hanabi. The others of that class were distributed among the older teams.

On numerous occasions Hinata had to forcibly remind Naruto that no, killing her little sister was not acceptable, and no, it didn't matter how much of a brat she was, she was _not_ an emo Sasuke wannabe, and he was _not_ allowed to call her teme! During the months the blond had been gone, Hinata had gained more confidence than even Kurenai thought possible, and was capable of standing up to her former crush without even the slightest of bushes.

Of course, the moment Hanabi figured out Naruto was the prankster king and decided to learn from him all she could, was a day the village rued. The villagers swiftly learned to take cover anytime they heard 'dattebayo!' or 'dattebane!' – which Hanabi had decided to shout as her own version of Naruto's nonsense – because it usually heralded one of two things – an explosion of paint or some other substance, or the two miscreants being chased by Sakura, Kakashi, Shikaku, or the ANBU, depending on who they had messed with that day.

Sakura had recovered – mostly – from her ordeal under Danzou, and her crush on Sasuke well and truly broken after seeing just how cruel the boy could be. She was overjoyed to have both Naruto and their sensei back in the village, and vowed to herself to never again complain about anything the blond boy or the jounin did – that vow lasted all of a day, when both walked to their team meeting spot sporting a familiar orange book. One couldn't spend four straight months with a certain toad sage without picking up his reading material, after all. The pinkette made it her goal to never let Hanabi be corrupted by their two other teammates.

Shikamaru and company had been released from Danzou's genjutsu while the two Sannin were battling the Hokage, and seemed to suffer no lasting effects. Almost. The genius kept glancing over his shoulder periodically and muttering something about blondes with fans who were out to get him, but nobody had any idea who he was talking about. After all, there were no blonde women wielding fans in Konoha.

As for Homura and Koharu, Tsunade decided that letting the two corrupt old advisors live was much more of a punishment than killing them straight off. They were handed over to the Torture and Investigation Department and Ibiki's tender care, with the understanding that any and all experimental techniques that needed testing were to be used on them as guinea pigs.


End file.
